Major European football made its cautious return on Saturday as Germany’s Bundesliga became the first of the big five leagues to resume during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amid strange new conventions, there were the familiar sights of a dominant Borussia Dortmund performance and VAR controversy.

The voices of players and coaches echoed around empty stadiums, in which players wore face masks in the dressing rooms and during warm-up, respected social distancing on the benches and for the pre-match pleasantries, but then got stuck in on the pitch.

Players may still be feeling their way in after two months off, but Dortmund certainly pulled no punches as they put pressure on leaders Bayern Munich with a thumping 4-0 win in the Revierderby against Schalke.

Fortuna Dusseldorf and Paderborn will both be grateful for the restart as it gives them at least the hope of climbing out of relegation trouble, though neither could take immediate advantage as they drew 0-0.

Fortuna will be the most frustrated after hitting the frame of the goal four times, the last of them a Steven Skrzybski shot which struck the left upright with nine minutes left.